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Answers to WTFWTK 2.76!

Mattel has once again provided answers to your questions.
Thanks again to them for taking the time to answer these!
Check out their answers to your Round 76 questions!

This round of questions were selected by jerec350.
Thanks to those fans for their help!

-------------------

1. Jerec350: In the 200X/MYP series we saw various weapons mounted on Zodak's wall. Will we ever see these weapons (especially the mace used in Rise of the Snakemen) in toy form? Maybe in the form of another weapons rack?

Always possible but nothing is planned right now. A very cool suggestion.

2. mightybuck: The MOTUC bios make subtle references to a long line of Castle Grayskull's guardians. Can we expect to see some of these past guardians, just as we've seen He-Men of the past?

It certainly is possible if the line keeps going!

3. Balthus Dire: Many International customers are still waiting on their December Mattycollector orders. After some research, it seems like only those who ordered the Wind Raider with their December orders are the ones who are still waiting, and it seems to be pretty much universal. Can you comment on this issue and what might be done to fix it?

We are working to get all orders out as fast as possible. If you are having trouble with your order, please call our customer service line. We are also launching an all new way to manage your account and work with customer services that will go live as soon as the lawyers are done approving contracts!

4. MrBlitzer: After a continual lack of improvements with Digital River's service, is there a "breaking point" that would result in Mattel taking their business elsewhere? Or are we absolutely stuck with Digital River for the end all duration of MOTUC and we can only continue to hope for improvements?

At this time we are not changing vendors.

5. Man-E-Beers: It seems to me that MOTU has been absent of a Latino character. Have you considered introducing a character with Latino physical characteristics into the MOTUC line? MOTU is always about celebrating diversity, and it would be great to add more characters from more diverse backgrounds.

these Q&As don't give us much variation on the As
it's always "we're looking into it, we can;t comment, great idea but nothing is planned' I mean I love to be able to interact, but there are genuine concerns that don't get resolved, the "we are looking into it" being the most annoying, esp when we come to them asking about shipping. my question didn't make it through but honestly why the hell are we having figures shipped to seden from the states to get to Canada? that's a legitimate concern because it increases the odds of us paying duty, it takes longer for our stuff to arrive, increases the odds of stuff getting lost or stolen and it's a waste of fuel.

but if my question did make it through, all we'd hear is "we're looking into it."

"We are working to get all orders out as fast as possible. If you are having trouble with your order, please call our customer service line. We are also launching an all new way to manage your account and work with customer services that will go live as soon as the lawyers are done approving contracts!"

Of course I have already contacted customer care, and they took 3 weeks to finally tell me that they will send me another WR DM BGEL but they never send me the shipping confirmation mail. So I have to guess that: 1).my package is lost or 2).They never send me the first order.
Also I am still waiting for Mach 2nd order, itīs been one month now.
And how does this new way to manage my account give me fast shipping? I am not expecting to get the figures overnight but 2 to 3 weeks is a normal time for delivery not more than one month!

these Q&As don't give us much variation on the As
it's always "we're looking into it, we can;t comment, great idea but nothing is planned' I mean I love to be able to interact, but there are genuine concerns that don't get resolved, the "we are looking into it" being the most annoying, esp when we come to them asking about shipping. my question didn't make it through but honestly why the hell are we having figures shipped to seden from the states to get to Canada? that's a legitimate concern because it increases the odds of us paying duty, it takes longer for our stuff to arrive, increases the odds of stuff getting lost or stolen and it's a waste of fuel.

but if my question did make it through, all we'd hear is "we're looking into it."

The genericness of many of the responses does tend to get annoying. But sometimes some of the questions, themselves, don't help. I mean no disrespect to those asking the questions, but sometimes with some questions I do wonder what kind of response people are expecting.

Look at the last two questions from this round, for example. What kind of responses should we expect from those?

Regarding the Digital River question... while it is good to express our frustration with DR and make sure Mattel is aware of it, and to not ease up on it until we see some kind of major improvement (whether that is with DR, itself, or by switching vendors), it's not like Mattel is going to respond to a question like that by saying, "Oh yes, we are looking into other vendors right now and plan to drop DR as soon as possible!" Even if Mattel was looking into other vendors, they aren't going to come out and publicly say it. If that ever happens, we won't hear about until the day of transition at the absolute soonest (maybe even a bit later). If one wants to use the WTFWTK's to express their disapointment with DR, that's fine to an extent (IMO it's kind of unncessary since I think by this point Mattel is more than aware of people's disapointment by way of posts on message boards like this one and on MattyCollector, itself), but don't expect some kind of super-specific, hard hitting response.

Similarly, I do wonder what kind of response was expected from Latino character question. Before I go into the issues with this particular question and others more like it, let's back up for a second and just look at the general issue of asking questions about potential future product.

By now, we should expect the responses to any questions about future product to be rather generic. If someone is asking such a question, they should expect upfront to get a very non-specific response. And if on a rare occasion a more specific response is given, it should be looked upon as an unexpected bonus, and not as something to be expected as the standard going forward.

I think people (both those reading these questions and responses, and those asking the question in the first place) need to look at this more as an opportunity to get ideas and suggestions through to Mattel. The first question about the Zodak weapons is a great example of this. Perhaps that's not something that was on their radar, so maybe it's something they will consider going foward. Those are something specific that appeared in the 200X cartoon that could become future bonus accessories or something like that. The fact that they replied saying that it's a cool suggestion is a good sign.

To an extent, the question about Grayskull's guardians accomplishes a similar goal, but isn't quite as specific. Of course, it's hard to get more specific since we don't know who those guardians are necessarily supposed to be.

Now, the issue with the Latino character question, for example, is that it's way to general and not likely to get implimented for a number of reasons. Aside from the current 30th anniversary sub-line of figures (which are already 'in the can'), there are no plans to create any more new, original characters in the line going foward... and frankly that shouldn't be a priority since we still have so many other characters to get through between the previous toys and all of the comic and cartoon characters. Now, if there happen to be any cartoon or comic characters that are Latino (I don't recall any offhand, but maybe there were), then a better approach would be to suggest making that/those character(s), and maybe trying to ralley some fan support behind it. Since that would be something that already exists that they can specificly refer to and make, it has a better chance of something happening with it.

But to make a generic statement about wanting a Latino character isn't likely to wield any major results if no obvious, existing candidates are suggested or obvious on Mattel's end. They aren't going to make it a priority to create an all new character just for this, nor (despite it happening once in 200X with Zodak) would I expect them to change an existing character's race/ethnicity to make this happen either.... so, don't expect a Latino Rio Blast any time soon.

I want to stress that I have no specific objection or problem with the general concept of a Latino character, so this isn't an issue of race or anything like that. Nor do I mean this to 'pick on' this specific question... it just happened to be a recent one that I latched onto as an example. The point is that as it is, we are already prone to receiving generic responses from Mattel as it is... so asking them a very, very general question will not only increase the likeliness of a generic response, but it will be far less likely to have any influence on future decisions made with the line if there isn't some kind of specific existing character, item, etc that can be pointed to as part of the request.

I mean no disrespect to the people asking these questions or choosing which ones end up getting asked. I know this is probably coming off more negatively than I intend it to be. As Val often says when making seemingly negative comments on RGB, "Take this within the context in which it is intended". It's just that by now, we've been through this enough that we should know what to expect and have some idea of what questions are either more likely to get a more specific response and/or what questions (even if they get a more generic response) are likely to help influence the line (or customer service) going forward. IMO Krosfyah, your question that you presented here would have made more sense to include in this round than those last couple (again with all due respect to the people asking them and to the person picking them out). While it may have still gotten a more generic response than you would like, at least it still brings up a specific issue that they could look further into and potentially do something about going forward.

Don't get me wrong, everyone has the right to ask whatever questions that they want. But if the questions aren't going to be asked in something of a strategic manner, then it's not really going to wield any results.

Am I the only one that this response sent icy shivers down their spine?

I think the question is,is anybody surprised by the response,lack of dealing with DR's incompetence,product quality is dropping(material and build quality),it just seems to me that Mattel are losing all interest in the longevity of the line.With regards to DR and Mattels contract surely when the vendor starts costing the company money there would be an option of contract termination.Mattel seem more than happy to continue down this road with DR and thats what will kill the line for international buyers like myself.............still waiting on Februarys figures,almost two months now,and the same old silence from DR's customer service.

5. Man-E-Beers: It seems to me that MOTU has been absent of a Latino character. Have you considered introducing a character with Latino physical characteristics into the MOTUC line? MOTU is always about celebrating diversity, and it would be great to add more characters from more diverse backgrounds.

No plans right now but you never know what the future will bring!

Ugh!!!
Really? I know everybody likes to give crap to the answers... but seriously, what about the questions?!!
Why exactly is a "latino" needed in MOTU??...
Besides, all the characters share the same body, how can you have "latino" characteristics exactly?...

Ugh!!!
Really? I know everybody likes to give crap to the answers... but seriously, what about the questions?!!
Why exactly is a "latino" needed in MOTU??...
Besides, all the characters share the same body, how can you have "latino" characteristics exactly?...

I'm guessing for the same reason an Asian character was needed, as was a Black Character, such as Clamp Champ, hell they even went as far as turning Zodac black and now made him into an entirely separate character.

I'm guessing for the same reason an Asian character was needed, as was a Black Character, such as Clamp Champ, hell they even went as far as turning Zodac black and now made him into an entirely separate character.

Yeah, but aside from the 30th anniversary figures which are being done this year, MOTUC isn't really about making all-new characters or making major changes to existing ones (i.e. changing their skin color/race/ethnicity). If a Latino character had existed in one of the original toy lines, or if one exists from the cartoons or comics, then it would make sense to include him. But they aren't going to start making up brand new characters beyond the six 30th anniversary figures and shoe-horn them into the regular line/subscription just so they can say that they have characters of other races in the line.

4. MrBlitzer: After a continual lack of improvements with Digital River's service, is there a "breaking point" that would result in Mattel taking their business elsewhere? Or are we absolutely stuck with Digital River for the end all duration of MOTUC and we can only continue to hope for improvements?

At this time we are not changing vendors.

Yeah, subscribers and conformists are definitely stuck with the stupid DR's business and people ! More drama will probably follow in the coming months for these fans...

And more than anything else, this proves that Matty and Mattel don't give a damn about their services or the satisfaction of their customers. By the way, we're STILL waiting to see the promised "improvements" being implemented...

Yeah, but aside from the 30th anniversary figures which are being done this year, MOTUC isn't really about making all-new characters or making major changes to existing ones (i.e. changing their skin color/race/ethnicity). If a Latino character had existed in one of the original toy lines, or if one exists from the cartoons or comics, then it would make sense to include him. But they aren't going to start making up brand new characters beyond the six 30th anniversary figures and shoe-horn them into the regular line/subscription just so they can say that they have characters of other races in the line.

You are missing my point. I quoted another poster, and he asked

Why exactly is a "latino" needed in MOTU??...

And I stated:

I'm guessing for the same reason an Asian character was needed, as was a Black Character, such as Clamp Champ, hell they even went as far as turning Zodac black and now made him into an entirely separate character.

I never said anything about creating a whole new character. I merely suggested that perhaps some people may feel the need for a Latino character the same way others felt the need for an Asian character as well as a black character.

The poster that I quoted question, seems more based on diversity, not Mattel's official stance on new characters being introduced into MOTUC, as you stated.

Yeah, but aside from the 30th anniversary figures which are being done this year, MOTUC isn't really about making all-new characters or making major changes to existing ones (i.e. changing their skin color/race/ethnicity). If a Latino character had existed in one of the original toy lines, or if one exists from the cartoons or comics, then it would make sense to include him. But they aren't going to start making up brand new characters beyond the six 30th anniversary figures and shoe-horn them into the regular line/subscription just so they can say that they have characters of other races in the line.

Well Zodac had more tanned skin like He-Man in the Filmation cartoon, and I've seen some people who were Latino identify with him on that basis - but they went ahead and made the MOTUC version lily white...as well as the repaint in the 2-pack.

1. Jerec350: In the 200X/MYP series we saw various weapons mounted on Zodak's wall. Will we ever see these weapons (especially the mace used in Rise of the Snakemen) in toy form? Maybe in the form of another weapons rack?

Always possible but nothing is planned right now. A very cool suggestion.

I'm just glad that Zodak's weapons are a possibility! I want that mace!

Does the office at Mattel read this questions and laugh at all of us customers with the bs answers you give us? Is there a panel of people who come up with the best possible way to be completely vague in all your answers? How many of the staff at Mattel have a running pool going on the amount of questions you guys can duck with answers that arent really answers.

BLAH mattel BLAH

Is the Line going to end?
"Nothing is planned right now but hey, anything is possible! Be sure to read the bios! "

Being that all the other questions seem so redundant I guess we all have found the "Latino Issue" to grow this thread but I only offer the following:

Being Puerto Rican, I do not feel that it be necessary to have a Latino character, unless as Dynamo stated if he's already somewhere int he prior series' and canons'. As it is a nice suggestion (and I can actually whip up a couple of ideas) but it begins to deviate from the core concept of MOTU Classics Line, just wanting to have 'one' and putting him into the line actually just really serves no purpose. Maybe I misread the question or not, but like it has been insinuated by Mattel in the past and now, there's NO interest in new development save the 30th Ann. at this time because there is no form of entrainment or media to really support any growth of anything too new. It would be nice down the road if this continues to be a successful line, but right now it's kind of a "KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE" mentality in let's get what we know and love and hope that can persuade something more down the line. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I ever got a Latino character; I want it to not only count, but have some significance rather than just being a 'TOKEN' character, to show some diversity where we already have this thru the distinct races and species separate and free of a discussion like these. I really don't think anyone opposes this but we all understand that in the concept of where it would fit in, not right now is the collective answer.

But if Mattel would ever like to pursue this idea, look me up I'd submit some...

I asked the question about the Latino character. It was edited heavily. My question was orginally more geared toward the vintage line. Scott mentioned he went through all of the old notes of the line and, if in the past, had Mattlel considered making a Latino character back then. I also threw in there if they thought about possibly doing one in the future. That whole gist of my question was left out. Sorry if some of you felt my question was useless and stupid, but it was not the question I put forth.

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12

"We are working to get all orders out as fast as possible. If you are having trouble with your order, please call our customer service line. We are also launching an all new way to manage your account and work with customer services that will go live as soon as the lawyers are done approving contracts!"

Of course I have already contacted customer care, and they took 3 weeks to finally tell me that they will send me another WR DM BGEL but they never send me the shipping confirmation mail. So I have to guess that: 1).my package is lost or 2).They never send me the first order.
Also I am still waiting for Mach 2nd order, itīs been one month now.
And how does this new way to manage my account give me fast shipping? I am not expecting to get the figures overnight but 2 to 3 weeks is a normal time for delivery not more than one month!

may be in a movie year

Yeah, for questions like this I kind of think the new answer should be "We realize our current customer service doesn't work, so if you have problems currently, just please continue to be patient until the lawyers approve the contracts for the new system we're launching, and try again once that is up and running." because that basically is our only option right now.

I asked the question about the Latino character. It was edited heavily. My question was orginally more geared toward the vintage line. Scott mentioned he went through all of the old notes of the line and, if in the past, had Mattlel considered making a Latino character back then. I also threw in there if they thought about possibly doing one in the future. That whole gist of my question was left out. Sorry if some of you felt my question was useless and stupid, but it was not the question I put forth.

Actually it makes a lot more sense the way you are putting it here. Too bad it got edited like it did.